I looked up “soldier weed” and I found articles about cannabis in the military. I looked up “potato weed” and found shirts saying “get baked” with a bloodshot eyed potato.
The reason there are so many potato varieties in the Andes is because of the ingenuity of the pre-colonial tuber farmers. They used a different variety for each soil type, altiude or climate. Producing alot of varieties that were sturdy and resilient against pests. This original agricultural system made potatoes into a crop that could be grown all across the rest of the world, and one of the most successful foods to prevent famines. It's not just an underrated cuisine, but a very underrated culture!
This is not the only reason. The physical geography of diversity of altitudes and mountainous terrain along with the vast diversity of soil types create a multitude of microclimates for numerous reasons-enabling a vast diversity of plants (in this case potato cultivars) to be grown in this region.
i knew the pre-colonial cultures developed lots of different varieties of plants, but, for some reason, i always thought there were always that many different kinds of potatoes. thank you for the information! do you have a book indication of where I could read more?
I passed by you at the market last week! Saw you were with your family so didn't want to disturb you, but I wanted to say thank you Kenji, you made a great impact on my life this past year.
As a Colombian that has tried (many times) to explain typical Colombian food to foreigners, I want to give you soooo much credit for how good of a job you do at not only making the food but talking about it. Loving your content!
The point about variety and country of origin is something I felt in my bones. I'm south Indian and just saying banana or spinach is so weird to me. I could go to any street fruit vendor and buy 8 different varieties of bananas. Each taste different and unique. Same with spinach. Very regularly we have 6 different spinaches at local groceries. Flavour and texture vary wildly. Its not uncommon to have some variety every day as part of our meal. But we get just potatoes and apples. The potatoes arent sorted. They're sometimes Yukon gold style and sometimes something related to a russet, but all bought and sold simply as potato. We get one variety of apple. Sometimes it's red delicious, sometimes it's more tart but always sold simply as apple...
I would love to learn about more of the Indian types of spinach varieties. What are their names? I love greens and the Indian way of cooking greens is amazing.
@@Pammellam lol pretty much any leaf that isn't straight poisonous can be considered a spinach. also, whereas in western cuisine, spinach can be prepared cooked or raw (like in salads or pestos etc), in indian cuisine (or at least what i have experience with, india is such a vast region with so many ppl it's hard to generalize) it's always cooked. some leaves (like the ones from pumpkin or squash) have a velvety texture before being cooked and are a tougher mouthfeel while others are so smooth that the break down into almost a sauce-like consistency just by steaming it for a while. my personal favorite variety is called 'laal saag' or 'red spinach' and it was this leaf that was almost maroon in color and would stain the rice red when you'd eat it together. growing up in upstate ny, my parents had very little access to indian markets but about once or twice a month, they'd head down to nyc for a shopping trip to get the desi essentials. i was always excited when they brought back the red spinach hehe.
@@nightingale4786 ::: I live in Japan and there are also many different kinds of greens here as well. Most of them are eaten cooked. But I think India must have the most variety! And I think India probably has the most interesting way to cook all of his greens as well.
@@krispbacon9474 Na man, they get views for that exact reason, because they aren't cooks and they have different opinions than the pros. Kenji is the 🐐 though.
As a first generation Colombian American that learned to cook through your cookbook and videos, I'm loving all the Colombian cuisine you're showing to all your viewers. My family is from barranquilla so I'm not too familiar with this soup, we ate mostly sancocho. I'll piggyback other comments and we'd all love a bandeja paisa video!
What you're saying is an important point for food from any country. For example: Americans think they know Chinese food. They haven't scraped the tip of the iceberg. China is a HUGE country with vast diversity of geography which allows for a vast diversity of microclimates in which to grow plants. Even one small village can have a signature dish they are famous for. With 34 iconic provinces hundreds and hundreds of regions and thousands of villages, to learn Chinese food would take several lifetimes. As Anthony Bourdain once said: "he one thing I know for sure about China is I will never know China. It's too big, too old, too diverse, too deep. There's simply not enough time. That's for me the joy of China, facing a learning curve that impossibly steep.."
My preschooler has been begging me to make “the soup with the corn from Encanto”, so I am very glad to find this recipe AND especially that you included substitutes for some of the Andean ingredients. We get a lot of different types of potatoes in the Netherlands, but not all of the ones traditionally used in the Colombian kitchen 😅 (I will also have to translate those US types of potatoes to our local varieties, but we live and learn 👍)
Kenji: Makes Columbian food with reasonable substitutions given he lives in the US Columbians: Nice Kenji: Makes Italian food with reasonable substitutions given he lives in the US Italians: hOw DaRe yOu 🤌🤌
Hey man! Just wanted to say that you really do know Colombia. Your explanation isn't just a run of the mill affair. I can tell you took the time to travel, explore, and most importantly understand the culture. Awesome job
My local Latin market has frozen packs with all the ingredients including guasca leaves - just add stock, chicken, and toppings. It is from abuela Emilia (Ajiaco Santaferiño mix)
Mine too. I just hate that there was 2 brands. One had the Colombian corn and the other the US corn. I can’t seem to find the one with the Colombian corn anymore.
I was curious how you'd eat the corn, but you cut it off early! Do you scrape off the corn with the fork or do you use it to lift it and bit off of it?
You lift it with your hands (the fork may work, but the cobb in this kind of corn is harder) and bite off the kernels, that's how we do it in Colombia.
Hey Kenji - now that you live in Seattle, there's a great potato farmer at the Ballard Farmer's Market who has a lot of varieties. I haven't checked for criolla but every other time a recipe has called for a particular variety of potato, I've been able to find it there.
first time on your channel, came for the ajiaco (mi sopa favorita), stayed for the knowledge, and melted at the end because you made me feel seen. you have a new non-binary pal and subscriber!
watched this video this morning and found out i have a Latin supermarket in my town that sold the specialty ingredients needed. I have a pot of this simmering away for dinner as I type this comment. Smells and tastes amazing. Thanks Kenji!
I don't want to bring the mood down, but since this is a Colombian recipe I would just like to spread the word of the civil unrest going on in Colombia right now
Hi! Just came here from a reddit post, and Im a guy from Colombia who happens to absolutely love cooking, and ajiaco is something our family has made since a long time ago, so if you want some tips/comments just hit me up! BTW, great job! looks delicious! hint #1: dont mix the pastusa/sabanera potatos. each kind of potato goes in the pot at different times, and each one gets sliced in a different way, also you want to peel them, keep them whole and let them sit in water for 15sh minutes, then slice or dice. hint#2: do not use chicken broth, put in a couple wings or legs, and just water, salt and some pepper. keep it boiling for a long time, replenish water as needed, you want a lot of chicken flavor, then you add the breast(breast is usually taken out before serving, pulled like pulled pork, and served over the soup, but evryone gets a leg/wing) cilantro is higly recommended, but bay leaves not at all. hint3# "papa criolla goes in first, you may cut it in halves, or slices depending on the size, you want them to dissolve, this will give the "body" to your soup, so the smaller you cut it, the faster it will dissolve, keep the heat on low here... also, if you get ahold of cummins, well yeah go crazy on them, every damn colombian dish relies on cummins, whole or powdered is ok, but for ajiaco powdered is better. hint#4, I guess we should just chat up!
I've been dying to make this soup since I went to Colombia 2 years ago. My wife is Colombian, and needless to say I've fallen in love with the food too. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Up here in the frozen north, Galinsoga (quickweed, gallant soldier, potato weed) grows as a weed in gardens everywhere, most gardeners pull it, and have no idea what they are missing. Our local potato, ham, and corn soup (Sort of like an Ajiaco nortamericano) benefits a lot from the addition of the plant to the pot.
Hey Kenji! I have the same stove as you but mine doesn't simmer food when I snap my finger. If you know how yours work, can you help me trouble-shoot mine?
Shocked to see Goya in the video with Kenji being so outspoken against Trump and his spreading of lies. Haven't bought Goya since the CEO made his comments
I would love to see j Kenji make a satay dish! I feel like he would make an excellent one. Only started watching his stuff after hearing his name being used in babish and others but always forgot to check him out.
I watched this over lunch with my folks, we're all from Bogotá, they approved and said it looks fantastic, we'd love to see you have a crack at a Bandeja Paisa. Also thanks for that shout in the description, Temblores is doing amazing and necessary work.
Random question, not sure if you've covered this. Could you talk about different oils in your next video. Vegetable, sunflower, extra virgin, when to use what, the differences, flavours etc. Thanks in advance!
Looks delicious as always kenji, love the fact that you showcase south american cuisine, not that complex but really tasty, hearthy and filling, btw you should absolutely give argentinian food a try, you would not be disappointed i promise. Maybe locro if you find not to be too scared about achuras (like tripe or pig's ears), or asado argentino, or maybe empanadas tucumanas/salteñas, pollo al disco is also a great option, anyways great vid as always much love from argentina 😁
Hey Kenji, I just saw there is an instant pot/pressure cooker version of this dish and I was wondering if you could tell us how it compares to the traditional way of cooking it? Stay safe and much love
Since potatoes are pretty much just cellulose and starch, if you wash the starch away you're basically left with crunchy potato pulp. I think normally the starch swells and gels and spreads the cellulose fibers apart, making the potato tender.
Great video Kenji! My wife is also from Bogota and I posted a Colombian empanada video earlier this year. Btw, you can get jarred papa criolla as well!
Hey Kenji, I was trying to learn how to peel boiled eggs properly without taking some of the egg with shell. One of your older videos recommended putting eggs in a pot of boiling water, so that the whites set up as soon as they hit the water. I tried doing that, but after 1-2 minutes in the hot water, the eggs started cracking and the contents leaked out. Within 5 minutes, all eggs had cracked in the water. Could you tell me what I did wrong?
I find this very interesting... Not just because I am half Colombian half German with an Asian wife but also because I've never heard of this dish before. Looks super hearty and like comfort food to my liking. I will definitely try this once I got all the ingredients.
i think if you wash potatoes too long you remove starches and leave behind a hypotonic liquid phase in your cellular structure the depletion of starches limits the osmotic pressure as they dissolve during cooking, ordinarily the cellulose structures would swell and explode, softening the bulk and creaming your potat
My South East Asian tiger mum would trigger at the wasted onion whilst peeling 😂 ".. Why waste so much??" great recipe! Now... To find some of those potatoes here in the UK...
Nice getting aquainted with your channel. This was a lovely and entertaining video. I was very impressed with your knowledge and even more so when I found out you're not Colombian yourself. I live in Sweden and it's probably going to be difficult to find the different potatoes and the mazorca here but I won't give up. Really miss the Colombian cuisine here.
Great explanation..you make it look very easy....just a tip from a local, in order to get the same texture just add the potatoes by hardness, meaning the harder ones first and the softer ones at the end ( Red, then Rossettes and the Yellow ones last, or whatever your experience tells you).Time between each batch should be around 20-30 minutes. Try making some Lomo al Trapo (look it up or ask your wife), Bogotá people love it and use to make it by a fire place in a party dinner and it is so quick and easy but nevertheless so tasty.
Very happy to see you prepare colombian dishes! You should try making “Lomo al trapo” next time, though it is kind of dependent on a chimney for its traditional preparation
I am very familiar with the dish! One of my favorite ways to prepare beef. My wife grew up eating it prepared at her uncle’s fireplace in Subachoque. I cooked it for around 200 guests at the International Association of Culinary Professionals awards several years ago (using charcoal in an open grill). I was actually thinking of doing a video on it soon.
from romancing in the stones, i thought the author was trying to highlight how dangerous columbia is, where people used their guns to open the door. then they appear to think that this is perfectly normal.. Thats the message i got from that particular movie. I love columbian food, thank you for the recipe
Kenji where do you find imported ingredients like the papas and the Peruvian corn? My husband is Peruvian and we are always on the search for familiar flavors. We have found some canned and jarred stuff, but he'd love some choclo peruano!
I think it largely depends where you live. Since moving to Houston, TX a couple years ago I have found so many ingredients I never could have found in North Carolina. However, even in Houston it's hit or miss - I can occasionally find frozen Peruvian Aji Amarillo at Fiesta (a latin grocery store) and even Kroger, but not always. If you have a large latin market nearby in a city, that may be a place to start!
Hi Kenji, Hopefully you can answer this unrelated question while you’re doing a video. (However this recipe looks tasty and I’ll be hunting down soldier weed). Anyway, do you ever get into “food ruts” or just generally feel uninspired? If you do, what do you do to get out of them? I’m currently in one both professionally and personally and if you have insight, I’d love it. Thanks!
I was stuck in that roadblock in the construction zone on Hwy 25 from Medellin to Solento this March, and we went to a roadside stand where we had the best soups. They were similar, but no corn and they were squeezing oranges into it.
If it was near Medellin most likely it was sancocho, which is brother with more chunks of vegetables though it doesn’t typically have citrus (but can). Or maybe it was mote, which is a cheese soup served with citrus.
So, if you really want “Mazorca” I’m thinking you best bet would be to look for fresh (versus dried) dent corn or any other corn called “maize”. The corn used in Mexico to make tortillas would probably be right.
This is great! Im from Bogota but I've never made ajiaco. Just to be sure, guasca is not the leaves from the potato plant, right? Even if People call it potato weed?
Would hominy be a reasonable and/or more accessible substitute? I'm not very familiar with the traditional corn ingredient you used. Many thanks for sharing your passion!
